Not to do so is to surrender what surrounds you to the control of others ThinkingOutLoud.DonaldNoyes.20110629
This is the strategy of one who has "confidence", not born from outside forces, but from an inward motivation based on "competence", gotten by HardWork. Here are some of the Strategies which can shape, or reshape your world:
Computer Applications and hardware
Make sure that you use packages and strategies, together with adequate computing infrastructure, about which you can say "ItWorks". It mattes not so much from how "new" and "cutting edge" it is to how it can be integrated into your own "shaped environment".
Establish your competency of use, such that you employ the strength and flexibility of the applications and operating system you choose.
Don't be afraid of spending a considerable sum for "well-developed and maintained" software and sufficient computing resources to employ it.
Don't feel you have to try the latest and greatest packages, for if they are, they will survive long enough to be UsefulUsableUsed by you.
Pay Cash for all Computing resources. (It is tempting to use future earnings for today, but can become not only a bad strategy, but one which disables a cash only strategy and leads to extended and sometimes painful long-term debt load.
Deal with reputable vendors and stores having better than good reputation.
Think over the long-haul
For long-term information needs, depend on lasting and successful programs and interfaces. Use Plain-Text where possible. Write down stories and events that have future implications and store "Where you can find them"
Maintain an Internet location where you can store and make available information you want your friends and associates to know. (Websites have become so inexpensive that having one can extend what you shape and control in such a manner as to enhance your influence.